She Still Wears Shoes in a Kids’ Size 2. Now She’s Opening Up About Her Life with Clubfoot in a Viral Video

Amy Areias never expected to go viral over shoes and scars. But when she picked up her phone, held a pair of tiny sneakers, and started recording, she opened up about a part of her life she had always kept private.

“So I went to get a new pair of sneakers yesterday at the Locker, and when I put the shoes up on the counter, the girl said, ‘Oh, my gosh, these shoes are so cute,’ ” Areias tells PEOPLE. “And I said, ‘Yeah, I know, I have small feet,’ and she’s like, ‘Wait a minute, these are for you?’ And I go, ‘Yeah.’ ”

For Areias, it wasn’t just about sneakers. It was her way of sharing a lifelong condition she had hidden because of fear and self-consciousness.

“I was born with a disability, a very rare disability called clubfoot,” she explains. “Basically, I had surgeries from the time I was less than a year old until I was about 8 or 9.”

Her childhood was shaped by medical procedures. “I just remember being in big casts from my upper thigh to my toes and needing a wheelchair,” she recalls. “Kids would look at me and wonder what was wrong.”

Those surgeries left lasting effects. “When my feet were in casts, they didn’t get the chance to grow properly,” she says. “So now I wear little kids’ shoes.”

In her viral TikTok, Areias holds up her new sneakers. “I am no bigger than a size two,” she says. “The sneakers I just bought are a one and a half.” She even shows her feet, scars and all, something she had never done publicly before.

Despite the challenges, she tries to see the upside. “Sometimes kids’ shoes are cheaper,” she shares. “These tennis shoes were only $65.”

Growing up, though, it was difficult. “People would always ask about my tiny feet, and I felt insecure,” she says. Her parents encouraged her, reminding her she had nothing to be ashamed of, but finding shoes was still a struggle. “Sometimes I need two different sizes just to make them fit,” she explains.

Her TikTok almost didn’t happen. “I wasn’t even planning on posting it,” she says. “I just thought, who cares if someone makes fun of me? That’s on them.”

The video quickly blew up. Comments poured in, with people asking questions and even sharing that they or their children also had clubfoot. “I didn’t realize so many people would connect with it,” Areias admits.

Still, there are limits. “I’ll never wear sandals,” she says. The casts from her childhood caused her toes to overlap, and she prefers not to show them.

The reaction from viewers has reminded her she isn’t alone. “So many people reached out saying, ‘My child has clubfoot,’ or ‘I do too,’ ” she says.

As an adult, Areias has learned to accept her differences. “They’re just shoes, they’re just feet,” she says. “Even if people react badly, that says more about them than about me.”

She credits her parents and her boyfriend for giving her confidence. “When I told him about my condition, he thought it was really cool,” she shares. “If he can accept something I’ve been insecure about my whole life, then he’s a keeper.”

Areias now hopes her story can encourage others. “I hope parents can share it with their kids so they stop feeling so self-conscious,” she says. “Because at the end of the day, it’s just part of who you are.”